Last updated on January 18, 2020
Bangalore
Bangalore is called the garden city. There are lots of beautiful green spaces here. Too bad that the people don’t respect the parks and it is oftentimes littered with garbage. There is a park in the village where I live. It remains locked up most of the time. Some evenings (I haven’t figured out the schedule since it doesn’t seem to match what’s written on the gate) it opens up and there is light and music and half of the population of the village walking around the park. I used to think of going there for a nice evening walk sometimes but too many people already have that idea.
At the beginning of December, I went on a scavenger hunt organized by one of the teachers at my school. What fun!! I went to many places in Bangalore that I had not been to before. My favourite site however was just outside of Bangalore in a place called Omkar Hills. At the top of the hill sits a temple. And beside the temple, there is a (I still don’t know what to call it) circular structure. Around the periphery of that structure, there are 9 stations. Each station sits on a pillar and takes the form of a place of worship. Inside each of those houses, there is a symbol/statue from each of the great religions. For example, there was a mosque and a church. Inside the mosque, was a book and inside the church was a statue of Jesus Christ.
There are moments when I struggle with India and moments when I love it. Perhaps as you read on, you will begin to understand why.
Glimpses of My Life
Ms. Drama and Ms. ESL are my colleagues and my friends. They are so named because of the subjects that they teach.
Cities I’ve been to in India
- Bangalore
- Bijapur
- Madikeri (Coorg)
- Solapur
Episodes of Life in India
Episode 1
Ms. Drama and I went to our favourite restaurant for dinner the other night. This Indian man followed us into the restaurant but we paid no heed. We went to the top floor (of three floors) and found a seat in the corner. None of the other tables were occupied. Suddenly, this Indian man (who had followed us into the restaurant) came to stand right in front of our table while speaking on the phone. He very casually asked (with the phone still to his ear) “May I sit with you”. Ms. Drama said no and he left. Weird people.
Episode 2
Rickshaw drivers in this country tend to try my patience. I took a rickshaw the other day. I was going to a colleague’s house so that we could go to a conference together. About 2 minutes after the rickshaw driver picked me up, he stopped for another person as well. I found it a bit strange (and inappropriate) but no comment. About 10 minutes later, the second person arrived at her destination. The driver then asked her for a fare. I was furious that he was trying to collect two fares. I first told the driver that she would not be paying him or I would subtract her fare from the cost of the trip to my destination. He started quarrelling with me and demanding that I pay him an extra 50% of the fare to my destination. To cut a long and repetitive story short, the girl did not pay and I gave the driver exact change when we got to my destination.
Episode 3
I have never been as rude to people as I have been in India. Around Christmas, we went shopping so that Ms. Drama could get gifts to bring back to Canada for her family. We decided to try a new store. Everywhere we went in the store, people followed us, invading our personal space, offering us assistance. At one point, just as we passed a man, he started to follow me. I turned around and said “Do NOT follow me”. He said “No madam, I am not following” and promptly turned around and went back to his desk.
Episode 4
I love the clubs in India, for the most part. Most of them have lounging areas where you can just sit and relax. And they serve good (though relatively expensive) food. Bangalore is famous for its pubs. Ms. Drama and I are entertained for hours watching the men dance.
The majority of the music that is played in clubs is trance. To be fair though, I have gone out on some occasions where the d.j. has played some good dancing (read r&b; and dance hall) tunes.
Episode 5
You may be wondering if there is nothing else to do here except go to clubs. Well, yes there are but pubs are the most popular form of entertainment here. The other opportunities for entertainment mostly come from my colleagues. I sometimes have small dinner parties. Otherwise, I may go to one of my friend’s house for movie night. Most of the time, I just hang out with Ms. Drama and Ms. ESL and talk, have dinner, go bowling, or go walking. On other occasions, I stay home and read a book.
Episode 6
About a month after I got to India, Ms. Drama and I took a rickshaw home from downtown. Halfway home, the rickshaw stalled. Neither Ms. Drama or I knew where we were, how far we were from home or how to get home. Thank goodness, the third rickshaw driver that our driver asked agreed to take us the rest of the way home.
Episode 7
People in India seem to be very devoted to their religion. Whether they’re Muslim, Hindu or Christian, they take their religion very seriously. Perhaps I should take this opportunity to find my spiritual self…
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